If you can't wait to know more about Sanctuary's first new album since 1990, you are in luck. The Seattle band led by singer Warrel Dane have shared the artwork to their upcoming album, The Year The Sun Died, which was created by the acclaimed artist Travis Smith (Opeth, Nevermore). The album will be released on October 6th in Europe and October 14th in North America on Century Media Records and will feature 11 tracks. We'll let you know when there is new music to listen to.

There will be a deluxe media book, available exclusively at CM Distro in the United States, which features expanded packaging and the bonus track, "Waiting For The Sun", originally recorded by The Doors. The vinyl version will come with a CD featuring this bonus track as well.

The 11 songs on the CD and LP are as follows:

01. Arise And Purify
02. Let The Serpent Follow Me
03. Exitium (Anthem Of The Living)
04. Question Existence Fading
05. I Am Low
06. Frozen
07. One Final Day (Sworn To Believe)
08. The World Is Wired
09. The Dying Age
10. Ad Vitam Aeternam
11. The Year The Sun Died

They always sounded more like thrash with Warrel Dane on vocals to me. Lol. That's why I'm hoping they still play "thrash" (parentheses because y'all disagree with me, lol) because I don't want them to sound like Nevermore; they didn't in the 80s/90s and I don't want them to now. I like Nevermore, but if Warrel and company are going to perform in another band then they need to perform a different style, otherwise just stay in Nevermore.

Add: Musically they always reminded me more of Puppets/Justice-era Metallica than power metal, but with a King Diamond-esque theatrical/falsetto vocalist. *shrug*

I never had much experience or knowledge about speed metal before, though I did recently read so-and-so's article about it, and I suppose speed metal might be a more apt genre label for Sanctuary than thrash or power.

The follow-up is just as much a US power metal album with some speed metal thrown in for good measure. It just sounds different due to the vastly superior production. The first one's was ruined by Dave Mustaine's incompetence.

The follow-up is just as much a US power metal album with some speed metal thrown in for good measure. It just sounds different due to the vastly superior production. The first one's was ruined by Dave Mustaine's incompetence.

It was produced by Dave Mustaine?! I didn't even know. That explains so much.

The follow-up is just as much a US power metal album with some speed metal thrown in for good measure. It just sounds different due to the vastly superior production. The first one's was ruined by Dave Mustaine's incompetence.

It was produced by Dave Mustaine?! I didn't even know. That explains so much.

Yeah it does, doesn't it? Btw, he also plays the guitar solo on White Rabbit.

The follow-up is just as much a US power metal album with some speed metal thrown in for good measure. It just sounds different due to the vastly superior production. The first one's was ruined by Dave Mustaine's incompetence.

I find there's a noticeable difference in style between those two albums, I don't think the way each album was produced explains the change in sound really. The debut was far from ruined from my perspective (I actually prefer the debut), it's high quality US power metal and I wouldn't apply the same stylistic tag to the following album as readily. Your own description regarding the speed metal elements seems more relevant in the case of the debut to me, though "Into The Mirror Black" can also be described as such.